Overhead carrier.



A. H'. NE LLER. OVERHEAD CARRIER. APPLICATION mums-s1. 191a.

Patented Jan. 14, 1919.

m m M s 2 6 O 6 1 9 2 1 erinnra'r H. HELLER, or FAIRFIELD, IOWA,ASSIGNOR COMPANY, OF FAIRFI ELD, IOWA, A CORIPORATION- OF IOWA.

OVERHEAD CARRIER.

Fairfield, in the county of Jefferson and State 'of Iowa, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements inIOverhead Carriers, of which thefollowing is a specification.

' My invention. relates to improvements in over e ad carriers, such asmay be used in garages and other similar places .and 1t consists of theconstruction and arrangement of the parts whereby the hoistin' tacklewhich is attached to the carrier an prefer dmally. Also,

be h reinafter described and ably manually shifted to any point withinspecified limits, either laterally orlongituin the details of theconstruc tionand arrangements of the parts; as w1ll defined in theclaims.

,In the accompanying dgawings form ng a part of this specification,Figure 1 is a perspective of an. overhead carrier embodying therfeaturesof my inventlon. Fig.2 is an enlarged vertical transverse tion 'of thearrow.

line 33 of Fig. 1. F1gs.4 and 5 are enthe ceiling of-a building wporting beams B located thereon. O reprelarged detail views which willbe described later on.

Referringto the drawings A represents hich has supsents-tlmbers whichare spaced apart and connected transversely to said beams, so as to beabove the portion of the room in which the overhead'carrier is tobperate. To each of these timbers an overhead track D'is hung by meansof a series of, hangers E which maybe of any preferred construction. Onthese tracks carriers F are mounted so as to run past the hangers E fromone end to theother of the respective tracks.

A thirdtimber G disposed transversely to the timber-G and't'racks- D issuspended to the carriers-F asshown in the drawing by straps H connectedat their'upper ends to clevises I attached to the carrier frames so asto support the timber G in its transverse'positionbelow' the tracks D. Athird track J is suspended to the timber G by means of a series of heners K which may be of a construction similar to that of the hangers E orof any suitable construction to support the track J so as to run pastthe 1 carrier L, as will more definitely section "on line 22- of Fig. 1;looking in the direc- -i 3 is'the same on ports Qhaving their thesprocket'wheel on that in either direction,

Patented Jan. 14,1919.

Application 'filed August 31, 1918. Se1'ial No.252,235.

TO THE LOUDEN MACHIIENERY.

hang ers K from one; end of the track to the other. i

A hoisting tackle (not shown) will be connected to the carrier L asindicated by the section of chain M so that articles to be handled maybe raised and lowered and be supported in' elevated. position by thethose skilled in the "artto which my invention pertains. It will also bereadily understood that when the article is suspended to the carrier Lit may be moved aterally by pushing the carrier L along the track J, andalso longitudinally by pushing the carriers Falong the tracks D. 'Tofacilitate this latter movement is the principal object of my inventionand the means employed to accomplish this follows.-

A rotatable shaft N ismounted on the timber G so asvto project beyondthe upper edge of the timber. Sprocket wheels 0 are mounted on theprojecting ends of the shaft and horizontally disposed leading chains P'to the respective ends of t e timbers G, and preferably supportedthereon by braces B. One end of the shaft N is extended beyond carryinga hand chain T is extended end of the shaft.

To move the carriers mounted on this x all that is-necessary is fortheoperator to pull the hand chain'in one direction or the other. theshaftN to rotate and the sprocket wheels 0 to travel along the chain Pin the desired direction, thus carrying the timber G connected to thecarriers E along the tracks-D. By this 'means the track J with carriersL being attached to the timber G. will be drawn longitudinally to anydesired point within the limits of the tracks D.

An-enlarged detail view of the sprocket wheel is shownin Fig. 2. The.shaft N' is preferably made of tubing and the sprocket wheels aresecured toit so they will rotate ,wi th it. The links of the chain P aremade object are as end and a wheel 'F along the tracks D" be readilyunderstood by I up erends attached This will cause ner, and inorder toprevent the chain from slipping over a guard.U is provided. This 4:which is an enlarged view of the part looking up from the under side,the chain being removed.

. Theguard U is preferably made in two parts joined together by a rivetV as shown in Fig. 5, which isa transverse section on line 55,0f Fig:4%. Theunder sides of the ends of the members forming the guard which ismarked U are curved and made rounding Wherethey are joined together,thus making smoothly rounded and slightly hollowed faces for the chainto slide under when the sprockets are being rotated and the chain ispassing over them.

The guard being loosely mounted on the shaft its ends will be free totilt upward or. downward as they may be drawn by the relative .tightnesso'r slackness of the ends of the chain on opposite sides of thesprocket.

In this way the chains the ends U of the guard will be effectuallyprevented from slipping over the sprocket and at the samejtime thepressureof the ends of the guard on the opposite ends of the chain willbe always uniform.

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section of the timber G and track J, onthe line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and shows the sprocket wheel 0, chain wheel Sand oneof the track hangers K in the background. As shown in thestrengthen it drawings the timber G is fitted on its upper edge with ahorizontally disposed laterally projecting member W- which served tolaterally and prevent it from buckling in carrying a. heavy load.Material other than wood may be used for the members C and G ifpreferred, and where the I beams B are not used the member C may beconnected to the ceiling A in any suitable manner.

In the drawings and description relating thereto, I have merelyundertaken to typify my invention, and, therefore do not wish to beunderstood as intending to limit the same to the details shown anddescribed. It will be readily apparent that while the beams O and G arepreferred as mediums from which the tracks or ways may be suspended, yet

i they may be omitted, and the parallel tracks by said .e

or ways suspended tural timbers of the building and the transverse trackdirectly from the parallel tracks.

or ways.

What I claim is- 1. In an overhead carrier, the combination of an uppertrack, a carriage movable over the u per track, a lower track supportedement at an angle to the upper track, a carrier on thelower track, atoothed wheel rotatably mounted adj acentthe lower track and adapted tomove therewith, means P being passed underdirect from the strucinglyformed co-acting feed-track fixedly mounted adjacent and parallel to theupper track. v

2. In an overhead carrier, the combination of a pair of parallel tracks,carriages mounted for movement thereover, suspension. means for thecarriages, a track disposed at an angle to and below the parallel tracksand supported by said suspension means of thecarriag-es, a carrier onthe lower track,- a rotatable shaft movable with and supported adjacentthe lower track, means for operating the shaft, a toothed wheel carriedby the shaft, and a correspondingly formed 00- wheel and mounted theparallel tracks. 3. In an overhead carrier, the combination of a pair ofparallel tracks, a pair ofcar- 'riers mounted on and adapted to traversesaid tracks, a supporting member connected near its ends to andsupported by said carriers anddisposedat an angle to the tracks, a trackarranged parallel to and suspended from said supporting member, acarrier mounted on the latter track, and a propelling means carried bythe supporting-member. Y

4:. In an overhead carrier, a pair of overhead tracks paralleling eachother, a pair of carriers mounted on and adapted to traverse saidtracks, a supporting-member connected to and suspended from saidcarriers and disposed at an angle thereto, a track suspended from andparalleling the supporting-member, a carrier movable on said lattertrack,

and means for moving said carriers on the and the tracks connectedthereto, a track 1 suspended from said transverse supporting member inparallel relation thereto, a carrier mounted on and adapted to traversesaid latter track and means to manually propel the aforesaid pair ofcarriers and to cause/them to traverse the aforesaid trackways. I

6. In an overhead carrier, a pair of horizontally disposed supportingmembers attached to the ceiling of a building in parallel relation toeach other, a trackway suspended in parallel relation to each of saidmembers, a pair of carriers mounted on and adapted to traverse saidtracks, a supporting mamber connected near itsends to said carriersacting feed-track meshing with the toothed 1 adjacent and parallel tomounted on and adapted 1 and arranged to stand in transverse relat ionto the aforesaid pair of supporting members and the tracks connectedthereto, a

track suspended from said transverse sup-' chain whereby the rotating ofthe shaft will cause the sprockets to transverse the chains so thatthepair of carriers will traverse the parallel tracks carrying with themthe transverse supporting member and the track and carrier connectedtherewith, and means to manually rotate the shaft.

7. In an overhead carrier, a pair of horizontally disposed supportingmembers attached to the ceiling of a building in parallel relation toeach other, in parallel relation to each of said members, a pair ofcarriers mounted on and adapted to traverse said; tracks, a supportingmember connected near its ends to said carriers and arranged to stand intransverse relation to the. aforesaid pair of supporting members and thetracks connected thereto, a track suspended from said transversesupporting member in parallel relation thereto, a carrier mounted on andadapted to traverse said latter track, a pair of horizontally disposedchains supported at each end by the aforesaid parallel supportingmembers, a

rotatable shaft mounted on the transverse supporting member, a sprocketwheel on each end of the shaft and connected to said chain whereby therotating of the shaft will a trackway suspended cause the sprockets totransverse the chains so that the pair of carriers will traverse theparallel tracks carrying with them the transverse supporting member andthe track and carrier connected therewith, a chain wheel on one end ofthe shaft, and an endless chain hung on the'wheel, whereby .an operatorby pulling the chain in one direction or the other will rotate the shaftand cause the pair of carriers to traverse the parallel tracks.

8. In a device of the character described, a pair of overhead tracks andcarriers arranged in parallel relation to each other, a transversemember suspended near its ends by said carriers, a track and carriersupported by said member, a rotatable shaft mounted in parallel relationon said transverse member and its ends projecting beyond the ends ofsaid member, sprocket wheels on said projecting ends, a pair ofhorizontally disposed chains laid in the path of the sprocket wheels andhaving their ends rigidly supported, whereby the rotation of the shaftwill cause the sprockets to traverse the chains as and for the purposeset forth.

9. In a device of the character described, a rotatable shaft havingsprocket wheels thereon, anchored chains placed iii the path of thesprockets, guards loosely mounted on the shaft so their central portionswill straddle the sprockets and having concave convex ends to slide overthe chain and prevent it from slipping off the sprockets.

Fairfield, Iowa, August 28, 1918.

' ALBERT H. NELLER. Witnesses: EARGEL E. EAsToN, R. L. HESTON.

